The History of Massage Therapy.
Massage therapy has been around for thousands of years. When you get a stomach ache, you rub your belly. When you sprain an ankle, your natural instinct is to rub it. When young children or babies cry, parents rock and rub to calm them.
The English word “massage” likely comes from the Arabic “mass’h”, which literally translates to “touch”. But may also have its root in the French (“massage”) or Latin “massa”.
Massage has been around for centuries and has been practiced in virtually every culture since the beginning of time, so it’s not that easy to track. It’s likely that it began in China with the oldest written record detailing massage for therapeutic purposes dating back about 3000 years (though earlier than that there has been evidence of cave paintings by ancient cave dwellers). Thanks to Traditional Chinese Medicine massage began to develop into a science.
Massage owes much to its pioneers one of the earliest being Hippocrates, a Greek known as “the father of modern medicine”. Romans carried on with the tradition of massage – not just the emperors but also the gladiators.
During the Dark Ages (Early Middle ages around 1300) the religious doctrine frowned upon any form of touching and was unacceptable so massage went “underground”.
What we know of massage today resurfaced thanks to the Swedish physician Per Henrich Ling who, at the end of the 18th century/beginning of 19th century, worked with gymnasts developing a series movements (friction, kneading, stroking, cupping and clapping) to help relieve chronic pain – this exercise system was known as medical gymnastics. He did not refer to it as massage or rubbing though it became known as “Swedish Massge”. It was Dutchman, Johan Georg Mezger in 1800 who gave French names to modern massage techniques suggested by Ling such as “effleurage” and “petrissage” that are still used today.
Massage resurgence started in the 1950s and by the 1980s became to be accepted and sought after as a wellness technique.
Research continues into massage, standards are higher for professional practice, regulation and associations help debunk the outdated stereotypes and myths about massage.
The use of massage by therapists raises awareness and alters perceptions of massage – today you have many choices of types of massage – sports; relaxation; Thai; Ayurveda; trigger point to name a few. Many people experience and enjoy the benefits of massage therapy, bringing it out the “alternative” arena to becoming accepted as good health practice.